1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the use of a communication system to mediate transactions among entities reachable by the communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to mediating a transaction that uses a portable smart card and that employs a telecommunication network service.
2. Description of Prior Art
The use of personal smart cards for identification purposes, purchases, reservations and other transactions has become increasingly popular. Such cards may contain information such as an account or identification number and the name of the account owner, as well as other personal and application specific information. This information may be stored on a magnetic stripe on the back of the card or in a computer memory in the smart card.
Such smart cards, or portable data carriers, are known in the art U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,898, "Personal Memory Card Having a Contactless Interface Using Differential Data Transfer," for example, discloses a personal memory card which includes a microcomputer, an electrically erasable field programmable read-only memory, and also circuitry for inductively receiving a power signal and capacitively transferring data signals between the card and a card reader/writer located in an associated station. No direct ohmic contact is made between the card and the reader/writer for transferring power to the card or for transferring data to and from the card. The disclosed smart card is selectively reprogrammable by an authorized user with new and different data. The information stored in this manner is machine-readable, thereby permitting transactions to be performed more quickly and efficiently. This patent and all other patents or applications referred to herein are incorporated by reference.
It is also known in the art to provide improved security for multiple files which support multiple applications that may be stored on a smart card. U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,653 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,474 disclose a method and system for controlling access to files on a card and for limiting the exercise of card commands by an application which accesses specific data in a file on the card. A method and apparatus for specifying different security levels for permission to read, write or append data on or to the card are also disclosed. Multiple applications, therefore, may exist on a smart card without conflict or confusion.
Also known in the art is the use of a communication system to mediate transactions among entities reachable by the communication system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,589, issued on Jul. 12, 1994, discloses one such method.